Arizona Archaeology MonthPublic interest in BLM-administered cultural resources is very high, so we maintain close ties with a wide range of individuals, organizations and other agencies, and play a strong role in public outreach. We have for many years enjoyed a productive partnership with the State Historic Preservation Office to promote Arizona Archaeology Month, a landmark program which began in Arizona and has since been adopted by other States. Arizona Archaeology Month is the most comprehensive cultural resource public awareness program in the country. Arizona BLM typically does about 180 public presentations and tours each year dealing with cultural heritage, reaching about 5,000 people annually. Many of these presentations and tours are done in conjunction with Arizona Archaeology Month activities.

Site Steward ProgramThe volunteer Site Steward Program was established in 1988. The program is administered by the State Historic Preservation Office on behalf of all the participating agencies and tribes. Currently, the program has 670 trained volunteers who monitor archaeological and historic sites on lands of all jurisdiction throughout Arizona for the purpose of detecting and deterring theft and vandalism. Since the program was established, Stewards have contributed more than 96,000 hours monitoring archaeological and historic sites throughout the State. In the last two years, they made 2,200 visits to sites on BLM lands alone, contributing more than 7,000 hours to help us do our jobs. In addition to monitoring sites, Stewards also assist us in other activities like mapping sites, recording rock art, building protective fences around sites, and participating in field surveys under the direction of our Field Office archaeologists. The Site Steward Program received a national Legacy of the Land Award from the BLM in 1999.

Civil Air Patrol monitoringBLM entered into a cooperative agreement with the Utah Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) several years ago under which the CAP conducts monitoring flights over public lands on the Arizona Strip. The National Park Service subsequently used the agreement as a model for an agreement between the Department of the Interior and the Civil Air Patrol at the national level, which allows for this kind of monitoring on any Department of Interior lands. We have also supported Civil Air Patrol flights over the archaeological sites on Perry Mesa, now within the Agua Fria National Monument, for several years.

AZSITE automated databaseBLM has been a strong partner with the State Historic Preservation Office, Arizona State University, Arizona State Museum, and Museum of Northern Arizona to develop a statewide automated cultural resource database that will house all of the site records for the State and that incorporates a Geographic Information System (GIS) showing the locations of cultural properties and the areas of land that have been surveyed to find them. This electronic database, called AZSITE, will be used by land managers like BLM, and also contractors and others to more efficiently carry out preservation, planning and other management tasks.

Project ArchaeologyBLM also developed, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and members of the Ute, Paiute, Navajo and Hopi Tribes, a nationwide program that provides hands-on activities to educate children about cultural resources stewardship. The program, called Project Archaeology, is designed to give teachers educational materials that will enable them to teach their existing science, math, and social studies curricula, and higher order thinking skills, using examples from archaeology and history. Arizona BLM entered into a partnership with the Arizona Archaeological Council to conduct workshops for educators to teach them how to use Project Archaeology materials in their classrooms. More than 100 teachers have been trained in these workshops so far. Future plans for this partnership are to revise and reprint Discovering Archaeology in Arizona and to develop a Project Archaeology web site to communicate with teachers in Arizona who have taken or are interested in taking Project Archaeology workshops.

Four Corners Heritage CouncilBLM participates in the Four Corners Heritage Council in partnership with the National Park Service and the States of Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. The purpose of the Council is to manage and promote the wide array of cultural resources in the Four Corners area.

Other cost-share partnershipsBLM has entered into numerous cost-share partnerships with individuals, agencies and organizations to carry out a wide range of cultural resource inventory, protection and outreach efforts. In the past five years, partners have contributed more than $1.2 million in funds, materials, and labor to these efforts, matching BLM contributions by a ratio of five to one.